Husbando: the 8 most famous "husbands" of anime

Husbando

A famous Japanese proverb has taught us that: “among the flowers the cherry tree, among the men the warrior”. This is because the man who fights for his ideals, to defend his land or to protect his love for him, has always won the hearts of girls and the fantasies of young men. Anime and manga deserve the credit (and even a little to blame) for having represented idealized and idealizable characters who often become a source of inspiration, sometimes of obsession, just like what happened with the waifu, which we have already talked about. But it is difficult for women in Japan (and not only in Japan) to voice their desires, so the protagonists they admire are often transformed into a representation not only of what they most want to find in a man, but sometimes in a metaphor of the today's society, of wrong behaviors, of unhealthy relationships or of heroes who, deep down, are fallible and not very warriors. In a word, humans. They are the " husbando ", the " husbands " that all otaku and Japanese anime and manga lovers dream of.

Husbando: what does it mean and what are the most famous “husbands” in manga and anime?

What does husbando mean? The history of husbandos The characteristics and differences between husbandos The 8 most famous husbandos

What does husbando mean?

Just as with the word "waifu", its male counterpart "husbando" is very simply the Japanese transliteration of the English word "husband", which means "husband". There are several ways in Japanese to translate this term, the most common of which is "eight". While there are many words for “wife,” husbands have only a few specific terms reserved for them, and all of these terms depend on the situation and the context of the sentence.

For example, shujin is only used to refer to the own husband. It originally meant “master” or landlord, an old relic of Japan's patriarchal roots which tend to draw the ire of international scholars and journalists. Worse yet, the word shujin is still used in the context of "master" or "owner" when it comes to pets. Similar to shujin, it is "danna", which long ago geishas used to address the noble and high-ranking men they worked for. For this reason, danna has a more honorific undertone than shujin, although still related to Japan's patriarchal past. It is most often used to mention someone else's husband, honoring him in polite conversation.



Today, however, women prefer more "modern" terms, such as " otousan ", which literally means "father", " uchi no hito ", which literally translates as "in my person" and is used as a pet name, or simply " anata " which is the personal pronoun “you” and is therefore an informal way of addressing “your” husband, strictly reserved for a private conversation.

The history of husbando

First came the "wives" and only later did "husbando" arrive: this is because in the period in which the term waifu was born, i.e. in the early 2000s, there were simply more male readers in Japan. According to a recent research conducted by one of the largest Japanese publishers, or Shueisha , the site of one of its most popular magazines, Shonen Jump , has recorded more than 2 million weekly active users, of which 27.4% are 25 years old or more and more than 60% are men. However, sector magazines, such as Ribon or Office You have recorded a million downloads, with data showing that middle school girls and housewives over 45 appreciate the magazines the most.



Even today, it is easier for male readers in Japan to express their appreciation of idealized women. But this trend is slowly evolving: a more recent statistic has shown that female readers are growing , at least 77% of high school girls surveyed read shojo or josei . This has also led the mangakas themselves to have the possibility of creating more and more stories dedicated to girls, which does not simply translate into plots without clashes, battles or violence, but the characters and their stories reflect situations closer to the female universe , as explicit and less “stereotypical” love stories.

The characteristics and differences between husbando

The same rules for husbando as for waifu: there is no strict rules to follow. A husbando is a male character that the fan is attracted to. Quite simply, she's a character they'd want to marry (if she were real). Having a husbando you admire doesn't compromise fans from finding a guy who possesses the same traits: there are rare cases in which the obsession with waifu or husbando becomes such that some virtually "marry" their own fictitious spouses, compromising a possible relationship.

Most readers or viewers find in their husbands a source of inspiration rather than a solution. In some cases it has also been reported that fans attributed to their husbands a sort of therapeutic power: many women have had negative experiences or could go through a bad moment in their lives, when they discover that they feel affection for these imaginary husbands.



Furthermore, some of these protagonists, portrayed from the most varied Japanese social classes, often teach fans to recognize the most unhealthy relationships. Sometimes the same protagonists of the stories portray disturbing situations and in these cases, in fact, it is difficult to find a happy ending. A valid teaching for girls to overcome their emotional and physical traumas.

The 8 most famous husbando

A person can have more than one favorite husbando and often real disputes arise about which it is the most suitable character to contend for the title of " best husband ". Most readers or viewers recognize their husbands as strengths and weaknesses, bringing their personalities into a sort of stereotyped figure of what they would like for themselves and what they are looking for in those they love.

All the fans Some anime and manga have their own male reference figure, that character they liked more than another or that even made their heart beat faster: that's a husbando. There are as many as there are stories told and each of them embodies different preferences, characters and tastes. However, there are some anime and manga husbando that please everyone and that rank much higher than others in terms of popularity.

One of the first husbando that marked the lives (and expectations) of many of us, it is certainly Mamoru Chiba , better known as Sailor Moon's Milord or Marzio: despite a famous meme in which it was claimed that he never did anything (it is partly true), his main task is to be an excellent support for Usagi, aka Sailor Moon. Thoughtful, fun, romantic and faithful partner beyond the Moon and eternity. He's also a great father as well. Between him and Helios, the childhood of girls born in the 90s was hopelessly compromised towards a decidedly exaggerated expectation.



We got to appreciate Speedwagon's skills as a waifu and for this we can serenely cite Jonathan Joestar as another husband appreciated by the female population: the protagonist of Phantom Blood , the first series of the manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure by Hirohiko Araki, was another man from another time, precisely from 1987: an English nobleman from the 19th century, son of the wealthy Lord George Joestar I. Despite all the misfortunes that Dio Brando inflicted on him leading to his death, Jonathan protected his beloved Erina Pendleton and at the same time had mercy on his enemy. Who wouldn't fall head over heels for him.



Impossible, it would be unforgivable not to mention one of the many platinum-haired husbando. But the list, unfortunately, is very long: it's been since Hokuto no Ken, with its Toki, Rei, Juza and Shu  that the most desired husbandos have white hair and it's so hard not to mention Sesshomaru, Dante or Zero in the our special. However the most desired white-haired husbando are Kakashi Hatake and Gojo Satoru , according to the most famous rankings. The first, less recent, comes from Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto universe, while Gojo is one of the protagonists of Gege Akutami's Jujutsu Kaisen manga. They have in common the fact that they are both teachers, covered by a black band on the face, great power, excellent strategic skills and an indisputable charm.



Other husbando who make a massacre of hearts are the Demon Hunters from Kimetsu no Yaiba, known more as Demon Slayer. Virtually every male character in the series always wins a mention in the rankings of the most desired husbando, starting with the trio of protagonists, Tanjiro Kamado, Zenitsu Agatsuma and Inosuke Hashibira , who however cannot be mentioned as husbando because they are simply minors. And Japan is very strict on this point. But the ones who have won the title of husbando for the longest time and with the most votes are Rengoku Kyojuro and Tengen Uzui . The Pillar of Fire has inflamed his female fans with his sweetness and purity of him, while the Pillar of Sound… certainly has experience: he has three wives.



Two other faces of two famous anime cannot be missing from our list: Byakuya Kuchiki from Bleach and Levi Ackerman from Attack On Titan. Despite being main characters and non-protagonists of their stories, the depth with which they have been characterized has earned him the title not only of husbando, but of "heartthrob" by many Japanese fans. In reality, the entire work of Tite Kubo has given fans a long series of names for their favorite husband, including the protagonist himself, Ichigo , but also the antagonists Aizen and Grimmjow .



To contribute to the fame of the widowed captain of the Sixth Division of the Gotei 13 was also Miyavi, a well-known Japanese singer, in his interpretation in the 2018 live action. As for Levi, however, just like the shinigami, he has a personality detached who hides a balance between emotion and rationality, as well as being a skilled fighter. Levi, however, unlike Byakuya, has an "unconventional" beauty: he is short, with a vacant gaze and a fairly ordinary face. Proof that “standard” canons represent nothing in the face of a charming character.



We conclude our list with two “husbands” who have conquered their role as imaginary perfect husband precisely for their ways: Sebastian Michaelis, Loid and Ban. Sebastian is the evil butler in Black Butler , a manga written and illustrated by Yana Toboso , while Ban is one of the "sins" of The Seven Deadly Sins by Nakaba Suzuki. Both embody the ideal of the “bound” husband: Sebastian is a butler demon bound to Ciel's soul, to whom he cannot lie or betray, while Ban is bound to the sin of avarice following the death of Elaine, whom he wants more than anything to bring back and marry.



Tatsuya Endo's Spy x Family's Loid is not related to his family except for his job. At least at the beginning. But just like the other two, he's willing to cook, fight, and do just about anything else for his wife. And this seems to be the prerogative of the perfect husbando. Or as we would say: among the flowers the cherry tree, among the men the husbando.